Central regulatory role for the RpoS sigma factor in expression of Salmonella dublin plasmid virulence genes

Comparative Analysis of Transcriptome and Proteome Revealed the Common Metabolic Pathways Induced by Prevalent ESBL Plasmids in Escherichia coli

Antibiotic resistance has emerged as one of the most significant threats to global public health. Plasmids, which are highly efficient self-replicating genetic vehicles, play a critical role in the dissemination of drug-resistant genes. Previous studies have mainly focused on drug-resistant genes only, often neglecting the complete functional role of multidrug-resistant (MDR) plasmids in bacteria. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of the transcriptomes and proteomes of Escherichia coli J53 transconjugants harboring six major MDR plasmids of different incompatibility (Inc) groups, which were clinically isolated from patients. The RNA-seq analysis revealed that MDR plasmids influenced the gene expression in the bacterial host, in particular, the genes related to metabolic pathways. A proteomic analysis demonstrated the plasmid-induced regulation of several metabolic pathways including anaerobic respiration and the utilization of various carbon sources such as serine, threonine, sialic acid, and galactarate. These findings suggested that MDR plasmids confer a growth advantage to bacterial hosts in the gut, leading to the expansion of plasmid-carrying bacteria over competitors without plasmids. Moreover, this study provided insights into the versatility of prevalent MDR plasmids in moderating the cellular gene network of bacteria, which could potentially be utilized in therapeutics development for bacteria carrying MDR plasmids.

The genetic basis of phage susceptibility, cross-resistance and host-range in Salmonella

Though bacteriophages (phages) are known to play a crucial role in bacterial fitness and virulence, our knowledge about the genetic basis of their interaction, cross-resistance and host-range is sparse. Here, we employed genome-wide screens in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to discover host determinants involved in resistance to eleven diverse lytic phages including four new phages isolated from a therapeutic phage cocktail. We uncovered 301 diverse host factors essential in phage infection, many of which are shared between multiple phages demonstrating potential cross-resistance mechanisms. We validate many of these novel findings and uncover the intricate interplay between RpoS, the virulence-associated general stress response sigma factor and RpoN, the nitrogen starvation sigma factor in phage cross-resistance. Finally, the infectivity pattern of eleven phages across a panel of 23 genome sequenced Salmonella strains indicates that additional constraints and interactions beyond the host factors uncovered here define the phage host range.

Selection-Driven Gene Inactivation in Salmonella

Bacterial genes are sometimes found to be inactivated by mutation. This inactivation may be observable simply because selection for function is intermittent or too weak to eliminate inactive alleles quickly. Here, I investigate cases in Salmonella enterica where inactivation is instead positively selected. These are identified by a rate of introduction of premature stop codons to a gene that is higher than expected under selective neutrality, as assessed by comparison to the rate of synonymous changes. I identify 84 genes that meet this criterion at a 10% false discovery rate. Many of these genes are involved in virulence, motility and chemotaxis, biofilm formation, and resistance to antibiotics or other toxic substances. It is hypothesized that most of these genes are subject to an ongoing process in which inactivation is favored under rare conditions, but the inactivated allele is deleterious under most other conditions and is subsequently driven to extinction by purifying selection.

Salmonella Vaccines: Conduits for Protective Antigens

Vaccines afford a better and more cost-effective approach to combatting infectious diseases than continued reliance on antibiotics or antiviral or antiparasite drugs in the current era of increasing incidences of diseases caused by drug-resistant pathogens. Recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines (RASVs) have been significantly improved to exhibit the same or better attributes than wild-type parental strains to colonize internal lymphoid tissues and persist there to serve as factories to continuously synthesize and deliver rAgs. Encoded by codon-optimized pathogen genes, Ags are selected to induce protective immunity to infection by that pathogen. After immunization through a mucosal surface, the RASV attributes maximize their abilities to elicit mucosal and systemic Ab responses and cell-mediated immune responses. This article summarizes many of the numerous innovative technologies and discoveries that have resulted in RASV platforms that will enable development of safe efficacious RASVs to protect animals and humans against a diversity of infectious disease agents.

Interactions between Bacteria and Bile Salts in the Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Tracts

Bile salts and bacteria have intricate relationships. The composition of the intestinal pool of bile salts is shaped by bacterial metabolism. In turn, bile salts play a role in intestinal homeostasis by controlling the size and the composition of the intestinal microbiota. As a consequence, alteration of the microbiome-bile salt homeostasis can play a role in hepatic and gastrointestinal pathological conditions. Intestinal bacteria use bile salts as environmental signals and in certain cases as nutrients and electron acceptors. However, bile salts are antibacterial compounds that disrupt bacterial membranes, denature proteins, chelate iron and calcium, cause oxidative damage to DNA, and control the expression of eukaryotic genes involved in host defense and immunity. Bacterial species adapted to the mammalian gut are able to endure the antibacterial activities of bile salts by multiple physiological adjustments that include remodeling of the cell envelope and activation of efflux systems and stress responses. Resistance to bile salts permits that certain bile-resistant pathogens can colonize the hepatobiliary tract, and an outstanding example is the chronic infection of the gall bladder by Salmonella enterica. A better understanding of the interactions between bacteria and bile salts may inspire novel therapeutic strategies for gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary diseases that involve microbiome alteration, as well as novel schemes against bacterial infections.

The Impact of 18 Ancestral and Horizontally-Acquired Regulatory Proteins upon the Transcriptome and sRNA Landscape of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

We know a great deal about the genes used by the model pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to cause disease, but less about global gene regulation. New tools for studying transcripts at the single nucleotide level now offer an unparalleled opportunity to understand the bacterial transcriptome, and expression of the small RNAs (sRNA) and coding genes responsible for the establishment of infection. Here, we define the transcriptomes of 18 mutants lacking virulence-related global regulatory systems that modulate the expression of the SPI1 and SPI2 Type 3 secretion systems of S. Typhimurium strain 4/74. Using infection-relevant growth conditions, we identified a total of 1257 coding genes that are controlled by one or more regulatory system, including a sub-class of genes that reflect a new level of cross-talk between SPI1 and SPI2. We directly compared the roles played by the major transcriptional regulators in the expression of sRNAs, and discovered that the RpoS (σ³⁸) sigma factor modulates the expression of 23% of sRNAs, many more than other regulatory systems. The impact of the RNA chaperone Hfq upon the steady state levels of 280 sRNA transcripts is described, and we found 13 sRNAs that are co-regulated with SPI1 and SPI2 virulence genes. We report the first example of an sRNA, STnc1480, that is subject to silencing by H-NS and subsequent counter-silencing by PhoP and SlyA. The data for these 18 regulatory systems is now available to the bacterial research community in a user-friendly online resource, SalComRegulon.

The transcriptional networks and the functions of small regulatory RNAs of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium are being studied intensively. S. Typhimurium is becoming the ideal model pathogen for linking transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation to bacterial virulence. Here, we systematically defined the regulatory factors responsible for controlling the expression of S. Typhimurium coding genes and sRNAs under infection-relevant growth conditions. As well as confirming published regulatory inputs for Salmonella pathogenicity islands, such as the positive role played by Fur in the expression of SPI1, we report, for the first time, the global impact of the FliZ, HilE and PhoB/R transcription factors and identify 124 sRNAs that belong to virulence-associated regulons. We found a subset of genes of known and unknown function that are regulated by both HilD and SsrB, highlighting the cross-talk mechanisms that control Salmonella virulence. An integrative analysis of the regulatory datasets revealed 5 coding genes of unknown function that may play novel roles in virulence. We hope that the SalComRegulon resource will be a dynamic database that will be constantly updated to inspire new hypothesis-driven experimentation, and will contribute to the construction of a comprehensive transcriptional network for S. Typhimurium.

A Phase I, dose-escalation trial in adults of three recombinant attenuated Salmonella Typhi vaccine vectors producing Streptococcus pneumoniae surface protein antigen PspA

BACKGROUND

Live, attenuated, orally-administered Salmonella strains are excellent vectors for vaccine antigens and are attractive as vaccines based on previous use of S. Typhimurium in animals. A Phase I dose escalation trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of three newly constructed recombinant attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi vaccine (RASV) vectors synthesizing Streptococcus pneumoniae surface protein A (PspA).

METHODS

The 3 S. Typhi strains used as vectors to deliver PspA were S. Typhi ISP1820; S. Typhi Ty2 RpoS(-); and S. Typhi Ty2 RpoS(+). Sixty healthy adults (median age 25.2 years) were enrolled into 4 Arms (total 15 subjects per Arm); within each Arm, subjects were randomized 1:1:1 into 3 Groups of 5. All subjects in the same Group received the same vaccine vector, and all subjects in the same Arm received the same titer of vaccine (10(7), 10(8), 10(9) or 10(10)CFU). Adverse events, safety, shedding, and IgG and IgA titers against Salmonella outer membrane proteins (OMPs), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and PspA were evaluated.

RESULTS

In the highest dose group, no subject experienced severe reactions or serious adverse events. Most adverse events were mild; one subject had a positive blood culture. No subject shed vaccine in stool. No statistically significant differences for post vaccination ELISA or ELISPOT results between Groups were detected. However, a limited number of ≥ 4 fold increases from baseline for IgA anti-OMPs, IgA and IgG anti-LPS, and IgA anti-PspA occurred for a few individuals as measured by ELISA, and IgA anti-OMPs as measured by ELISPOT assay.

CONCLUSIONS

All three S. Typhi vectored pneumococcal vaccines were safe and well-tolerated. Immunogenicity was limited possibly due to pre-existing high antibody titers prior to vaccination. Increases in IgA were most often observed.

Pathoadaptive mutations in Salmonella enterica isolated after serial passage in mice

How pathogenic bacteria adapt and evolve in the complex and variable environment of the host remains a largely unresolved question. Here we have used whole genome sequencing of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 populations serially passaged in mice to identify mutations that adapt bacteria to systemic growth in mice. We found unique pathoadaptive mutations in two global regulators, phoQ and stpA, which increase the competitive indexes of the bacteria 3- to 5-fold. Also, all mouse-adapted lineages had changed the orientation of the hin invertable element, resulting in production of a FliC type of flagellum. Competition experiments in mice with locked flagellum mutants showed that strains expressing the FliC type of flagellum had a 5-fold increase in competitive index as compared to those expressing FljB type flagellum. Combination of the flagellum cassette inversion with the stpA mutation increased competitive indexes up to 20-fold. These experiments show that Salmonella can rapidly adapt to a mouse environment by acquiring a few mutations of moderate individual effect that when combined confer substantial increases in growth.

Stationary-Phase Gene Regulation in Escherichia coli §

In their stressful natural environments, bacteria often are in stationary phase and use their limited resources for maintenance and stress survival. Underlying this activity is the general stress response, which in Escherichia coli depends on the σS (RpoS) subunit of RNA polymerase. σS is closely related to the vegetative sigma factor σ70 (RpoD), and these two sigmas recognize similar but not identical promoter sequences. During the postexponential phase and entry into stationary phase, σS is induced by a fine-tuned combination of transcriptional, translational, and proteolytic control. In addition, regulatory "short-cuts" to high cellular σS levels, which mainly rely on the rapid inhibition of σS proteolysis, are triggered by sudden starvation for various nutrients and other stressful shift conditons. σS directly or indirectly activates more than 500 genes. Additional signal input is integrated by σS cooperating with various transcription factors in complex cascades and feedforward loops. Target gene products have stress-protective functions, redirect metabolism, affect cell envelope and cell shape, are involved in biofilm formation or pathogenesis, or can increased stationary phase and stress-induced mutagenesis. This review summarizes these diverse functions and the amazingly complex regulation of σS. At the molecular level, these processes are integrated with the partitioning of global transcription space by sigma factor competition for RNA polymerase core enzyme and signaling by nucleotide second messengers that include cAMP, (p)ppGpp, and c-di-GMP. Physiologically, σS is the key player in choosing between a lifestyle associated with postexponential growth based on nutrient scavenging and motility and a lifestyle focused on maintenance, strong stress resistance, and increased adhesiveness. Finally, research with other proteobacteria is beginning to reveal how evolution has further adapted function and regulation of σS to specific environmental niches.

The Role of the spv Genes in Salmonella Pathogenesis

Salmonella strains cause three main types of diseases in people: gastroenteritis, enteric (typhoid) fever, and non-typhoid extra-intestinal disease with bacteremia. Genetic analysis indicates that each clinical syndrome requires distinct sets of virulence genes, and Salmonella isolates differ in their constellation of virulence traits. The spv locus is strongly associated with strains that cause non-typhoid bacteremia, but are not present in typhoid strains. The spv region contains three genes required for the virulence phenotype in mice: the positive transcriptional regulator spvR and two structural genes spvB and spvC. SpvB and SpvC are translocated into the host cell by the Salmonella pathogenicity island-2 type-three secretion system. SpvB prevents actin polymerization by ADP-ribosylation of actin monomers, while SpvC has phosphothreonine lyase activity and has been shown to inhibit MAP kinase signaling. The exact mechanisms by which SpvB and SpvC act in concert to enhance virulence are still unclear. SpvB exhibits a cytotoxic effect on host cells and is required for delayed cell death by apoptosis following intracellular infection. Strains isolated from systemic infections of immune compromised patients, particularly HIV patients, usually carry the spv locus, strongly suggesting that CD4 T cells are required to control disease due to Salmonella that are spv positive. This association is not seen with typhoid fever, indicating that the pathogenesis and immunology of typhoid have fundamental differences from the syndrome of non-typhoid bacteremia.

Live recombinant Salmonella Typhi vaccines constructed to investigate the role of rpoS in eliciting immunity to a heterologous antigen

We hypothesized that the immunogenicity of live Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi vaccines expressing heterologous antigens depends, at least in part, on its rpoS status. As part of our project to develop a recombinant attenuated S. Typhi vaccine (RASTyV) to prevent pneumococcal diseases in infants and children, we constructed three RASTyV strains synthesizing the Streptococcus pneumoniae surface protein PspA to test this hypothesis. Each vector strain carried ten engineered mutations designed to optimize safety and immunogenicity. Two S. Typhi vector strains (chi9639 and chi9640) were derived from the rpoS mutant strain Ty2 and one (chi9633) from the RpoS(+) strain ISP1820. In chi9640, the nonfunctional rpoS gene was replaced with the functional rpoS gene from ISP1820. Plasmid pYA4088, encoding a secreted form of PspA, was moved into the three vector strains. The resulting RASTyV strains were evaluated for safety in vitro and for immunogenicity in mice. All three RASTyV strains were similar to the live attenuated typhoid vaccine Ty21a in their ability to survive in human blood and human monocytes. They were more sensitive to complement and were less able to survive and persist in sewage and surface water than their wild-type counterparts. Adult mice intranasally immunized with any of the RASTyV strains developed immune responses against PspA and Salmonella antigens. The RpoS(+) vaccines induced a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response while the RpoS(-) strain chi9639(pYA4088) induced a strong Th2 immune response. Immunization with any RASTyV provided protection against S. pneumoniae challenge; the RpoS(+) strain chi9640(pYA4088) provided significantly greater protection than the ISP1820 derivative, chi9633(pYA4088). In the pre-clinical setting, these strains exhibited a desirable balance between safety and immunogenicity and are currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial to determine which of the three RASTyVs has the optimal safety and immunogenicity profile in human hosts.

Role of RpoS in virulence of pathogens

Understanding mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis is critical for infectious disease control and treatment. Infection is a sophisticated process that requires the participation of global regulators to coordinate expression of not only genes coding for virulence factors but also those involved in other physiological processes, such as stress response and metabolic flux, to adapt to host environments. RpoS is a key response regulator to stress conditions in Escherichia coli and many other proteobacteria. In contrast to its conserved well-understood role in stress response, effects of RpoS on pathogenesis are highly variable and dependent on species. RpoS contributes to virulence through either enhancing survival against host defense systems or directly regulating expression of virulence factors in some pathogens, while RpoS is dispensable, or even inhibitory, to virulence in others. In this review, we focus on the distinct and niche-dependent role of RpoS in virulence by surveying recent findings in many pathogens.

Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium strains with regulated delayed attenuation in vivo

Recombinant bacterial vaccines must be fully attenuated for animal or human hosts to avoid inducing disease symptoms while exhibiting a high degree of immunogenicity. Unfortunately, many well-studied means for attenuating Salmonella render strains more susceptible to host defense stresses encountered following oral vaccination than wild-type virulent strains and/or impair their ability to effectively colonize the gut-associated and internal lymphoid tissues. This thus impairs the ability of recombinant vaccines to serve as factories to produce recombinant antigens to induce the desired protective immunity. To address these problems, we designed strains that display features of wild-type virulent strains of Salmonella at the time of immunization to enable strains first to effectively colonize lymphoid tissues and then to exhibit a regulated delayed attenuation in vivo to preclude inducing disease symptoms. We recently described one means to achieve this based on a reversible smooth-rough synthesis of lipopolysaccharide O antigen. We report here a second means to achieve regulated delayed attenuation in vivo that is based on the substitution of a tightly regulated araC P(BAD) cassette for the promoters of the fur, crp, phoPQ, and rpoS genes such that expression of these genes is dependent on arabinose provided during growth. Thus, following colonization of lymphoid tissues, the Fur, Crp, PhoPQ, and/or RpoS proteins cease to be synthesized due to the absence of arabinose such that attenuation is gradually manifest in vivo to preclude induction of diseases symptoms. Means for achieving regulated delayed attenuation can be combined with other mutations, which together may yield safe efficacious recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines.

Biofilm formation-gene expression relay system in Escherichia coli: modulation of sigmaS-dependent gene expression by the CsgD regulatory protein via sigmaS protein stabilization

Bacteria can switch from a single-cell (planktonic) mode to a multicellular community (biofilm) mode via production of cell-cell aggregation and surface adhesion factors. In this report, we present evidence that the CsgD protein, a transcription regulator involved in biofilm formation in Escherichia coli, modulates the expression of the rpoS (sigma(S)) regulon. Protein pattern analysis of E. coli cells in stationary phase shows that CsgD affects the expression of several proteins encoded by sigma(S)-dependent genes. CsgD regulation of sigma(S)-dependent genes takes place at gene transcription level, does not bypass the need for rpoS, and is abolished in an rpoS-null mutant. Consistent with these results, we find that CsgD expression leads to an increase in sigma(S) intracellular concentration. Increase in sigma(S) cellular amount is mediated by CsgD-dependent transcription activation of iraP, encoding a factor involved in sigma(S) protein stabilization. Our results strongly suggest that the CsgD regulatory protein plays a major role as a relay between adhesion factors production and sigma(S)-dependent gene expression via sigma(S) protein stabilization. Direct coordination between biofilm formation and expression of the rpoS regulon could positively impact important biological processes, such as host colonization or response to environmental stresses.

Gene expression profiling of the pH response in Shigella flexneri 2a

The pH response of Shigella flexneri 2a 301 was identified by gene expression profiling. Gene expression profiles of cells grown in pH 4.5 or 8.6 were compared with the profiles of cells grown at pH 7.0. Differential expression was observed for 307 genes: 97 were acid up-regulated, 102 were acid down-regulated, 91 were base up-regulated, and 86 were base down-regulated. Twenty-seven genes were found to be both acid and base up-regulated, and 29 genes were both acid and base down-regulated. This study showed that (1) the most pH-dependent genes regulate energy metabolism; (2) the RpoS-dependent acid-resistance system is induced, while the glutamate-dependent acid resistance system is not; (3) high pH up-regulates some virulence genes, while low pH down-regulates them, consistent with Shigella infection of the low gut; and (4) several cross-stress response genes are induced by pH changes. These results also illustrate that many unknown genes are significantly regulated under acid or basic conditions, providing researchers with important information to characterize their function.

Salmonella stress management and its relevance to behaviour during intestinal colonisation and infection

The enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica is exposed to a number of stressful environments during its life cycle within and outside its various hosts. During intestinal colonisation Salmonella is successively exposed to acid pH in the stomach, to the detergent-like activity of bile, to decreasing oxygen supply, to the presence of multiple metabolites produced by the normal gut microflora and finally it is exposed to cationic antimicrobial peptides present on the surface of epithelial cells. There are four major regulators controlling relevant stress responses in Salmonella, namely RpoS, PhoPQ, Fur and OmpR/EnvZ. Except for Fur, inactivation of genes encoding the other stress regulators results in attenuated virulence and such mutants can therefore be considered as vaccine candidates. In contrast, a decrease in oxygen supply monitored by Fnr and ArcAB, or oxidative stress controlled by OxyR and SoxRS is not regarded as a stress associated with host colonisation since inactivation of either of these systems does not result in reductions in colonisation. The role of quorum-sensing through luxS and sdiA is also considered as a regulator of virulence and colonisation.

Hierarchical gene regulators adapt to its host milieus

The facultative intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium possesses an elaborate set of virulence genes that enables the bacterium successfully to move between and adapt to the environment, different host organisms and various micro-niches within a given host. Expression of virulence attributes is by no means constitutive. Rather, the regulation of virulence determinants is highly coordinated and integrated into normal bacterial physiological responses. By integrating discriminating virulence gene regulators with conserved housekeeping regulatory processes, the bacteria can sense alterations in the repertoire of environmental cues, and translate the sensing events into a pragmatic and coordinated expression of virulence genes. While the description of transmissible genetic elements that import global gene regulatory factors into a cell brings conceptual problems into the established regulatory network, the existence of mobile gene regulators may actually enable the bacteria to further modulate virulence expression.

Targeting of the actin cytoskeleton during infection by Salmonella strains

Many bacterial pathogens produce virulence factors that alter the host cell cytoskeleton to promote infection. Salmonella strains target cellular actin in a carefully orchestrated series of interactions that promote bacterial uptake into host cells and the subsequent proliferation and intercellular spread of the organisms. The Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 (SPI1) locus encodes a type III protein secretion system (TTSS) that translocates effector proteins into epithelial cells to promote bacterial invasion through actin cytoskeletal rearrangements. SPI1 effectors interact directly with actin and also alter the cytoskeleton through activation of the regulatory proteins, Cdc42 and Rac, to produce membrane ruffles that engulf the bacteria. SPI1 also restores normal cellular actin dynamics through the action of another effector, SptP. A second TTSS, Salmonella Pathogenecity Island 2 (SPI2), translocates effectors that promote intracellular survival and growth, accompanied by focal actin polymerization around the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV). A number of Salmonella strains also carry the spv virulence locus, encoding an ADP-ribosyl transferase, the SpvB protein, which acts later during intracellular infection to depolymerize the actin cytoskeleton. SpvB produces a cytotoxic effect on infected host cells leading to apoptosis. The SpvB effect appears to promote intracellular infection and may facilitate cell-to-cell spread of the organism, thereby enhancing virulence.

Premature Salmonella Typhimurium growth inhibition in competition with other Gram-negative organisms is redox potential regulated via RpoS induction

AIMS

To identify the role of oxidation-reduction (redox) potential in the premature growth inhibition and RpoS induction in Salmonella serotype Typhimurium in competitive growth experiments.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Oxidation-reduction potential was measured throughout the growth of a minority population of Salm. Typhimurium in mixed cultures with other Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms. A lux-based reporter was also used to evaluate RpoS activity in Salm. Typhimurium in competitor studies. In a mixed culture, the multiplication of a minority population of Salm. Typhimurium was inhibited when competing Gram-negative organisms entered the stationary phase. This was not seen when the competing flora was Gram-positive. The change in redox potential during growth in mixed cultures was closely linked to the inhibition of Salm. Typhimurium growth by Gram-negative competitors. An artificially induced drop in redox potential earlier during growth in mixed cultures with Gram-negative organisms reduced the time to RpoS induction in Salm. Typhimurium and thus inhibited its multiplication prematurely. In contrast, RpoS induction and growth inhibition were prevented under high redox potential conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

This work shows that the inhibitory activity of competitive organisms can be mediated through their effect on redox potential-regulated RpoS induction.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Redox potential is shown to be an important determinant of Salm. Typhimurium growth, an observation with practical implications both for its control and detection.

The bacterial signal molecule, ppGpp, regulates Salmonella virulence gene expression

Numerous, overlapping global regulatory systems mediate the environmental signalling controlling the virulence of Salmonella typhimurium. With both extra- and intracellular lifestyles, unravelling the mechanisms involved in regulating Salmonella pathogenesis has been complex. Here, we report a factor co-ordinating environmental signals with global regulators involved in pathogenesis. An S. typhimuriumDeltarelADeltaspoT strain deficient in guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) synthesis was found to be highly attenuated in vivo and non-invasive in vitro. The DeltarelADeltaspoT strain exhibited severely reduced expression of hilA and invF, encoding major transcriptional activators required for Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) gene expression and at least two other pathogenicity islands. None of the growth conditions intended to mimic the intestinal milieu was capable of inducing hilA expression in the absence of ppGpp. However, the expression of global regulators of Salmonella virulence, RpoS and PhoP/Q, and RpoS- and PhoP/Q-dependent, non-virulence-related genes was not significantly different from the wild-type strain. The results indicate that ppGpp plays a central role as a regulator of virulence gene expression in S. typhimurium and implicates ppGpp as a major factor in the environmental and host-dependent regulation of Salmonella pathogenesis.

Oxidation-reduction potential regulates RpoS levels in Salmonella Typhimurium

AIMS

The aim of this work was to investigate the connection between oxidation-reduction (redox) potential and stationary phase induction of RpoS in Salmonella Typhimurium.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A lux-based reporter was used to evaluate RpoS activity in S. Typhimurium pure cultures. During growth of S. Typhimurium, a drop in the redox potential of the growth medium occurred at the same time as RpoS induction and entry into stationary phase. An artificially induced decrease in redox potential earlier during growth reduced the time to RpoS induction and Salmonella entered the stationary phase prematurely. In contrast, under high redox conditions, Salmonella grew unaffected and entered the stationary growth phase as normal, although RpoS induction did not occur. As a consequence, stationary phase cells grown in the high redox environment were significantly more heat sensitive (P < 0.05) than those grown under normal conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

This work suggests that redox potential can regulate RpoS levels in S. Typhimurium and can thus, control the expression of genes responsible for thermal resistance.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The ability to manipulate RpoS induction and control stationary phase gene expression can have important implications in food safety. Early RpoS induction under low redox potential conditions can lead to enhanced resistance in low cell concentrations to inimical processes such as heat stress. Inhibition of RpoS induction would abolish stationary phase protective properties making cells more sensitive to common food control measures.

Characterization of the RpoS status of clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica

The stationary-phase-inducible sigma factor, sigma(S) (RpoS), is the master regulator of the general stress response in Salmonella and is required for virulence in mice. rpoS mutants can frequently be isolated from highly passaged laboratory strains of Salmonella: We examined the rpoS status of 116 human clinical isolates of Salmonella, including 41 Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi strains isolated from blood, 38 S. enterica serotype Typhimurium strains isolated from blood, and 37 Salmonella serotype Typhimurium strains isolated from feces. We examined the abilities of these strains to produce the sigma(S) protein, to express RpoS-dependent catalase activity, and to resist to oxidative stress in the stationary phase of growth. We also carried out complementation experiments with a cloned wild-type rpoS gene. Our results showed that 15 of the 41 Salmonella serotype Typhi isolates were defective in RpoS. We sequenced the rpoS allele of 12 strains. This led to identification of small insertions, deletions, and point mutations resulting in premature stop codons or affecting regions 1 and 2 of sigma(S), showing that the rpoS mutations are not clonal. Thus, mutant rpoS alleles can be found in freshly isolated clinical strains of Salmonella serotype Typhi, and they may affect virulence properties. Interestingly however, no rpoS mutants were found among the 75 Salmonella serotype Typhimurium isolates. Strains that differed in catalase activity and resistance to hydrogen peroxide were found, but the differences were not linked to the rpoS status. This suggests that Salmonella serotype Typhimurium rpoS mutants are counterselected because rpoS plays a role in the pathogenesis of Salmonella serotype Typhimurium in humans or in the transmission cycle of the disease.

Contribution of proton-translocating proteins to the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium, Gallinarum, and Dublin in chickens and mice

We investigated the attenuating effects of a range of respiratory chain mutations in three Salmonella serovars which might be used in the development of live vaccines. We tested mutations in nuoG, cydA, cyoA, atpB, and atpH in three serovars of Salmonella enterica: Typhimurium, Dublin, and Gallinarum. All three serovars were assessed for attenuation in their relevant virulence assays of typhoid-like infections. Serovar Typhimurium was assessed in 1-day-old chickens and the mouse. Serovar Gallinarum 9 was assessed in 3-week-old chickens, and serovar Dublin was assessed in 6-week-old mice. Our data show variation in attenuation for the nuoG, cydA, and cyoA mutations within the different serovar-host combinations. However, mutations in atpB and atpH were highly attenuating for all three serovars in the various virulence assays. Further investigation of the mutations in the atp operon showed that the bacteria were less invasive in vivo, showing reduced in vitro survival within phagocytic cells and reduced acid tolerance. We present data showing that this reduced acid tolerance is due to an inability to adapt to conditions rather than a general sensitivity to reduced pH. The data support the targeting of respiratory components for the production of live vaccines and suggest that mutations in the atp operon provide suitable candidates for broad-spectrum attenuation of a range of Salmonella serovars.

Extracellular secretion of the virulence plasmid-encoded ADP-ribosyltransferase SpvB in Salmonella

Nontyphoid Salmonella enterica requires the plasmid-encoded spv genes to establish successful systemic infection in experimental animals. The SpvB virulence-associated protein has recently been shown to contain the ADP-ribosyltransferase domain. SpvB ADP-ribosilates actin and depolymerizes actin filaments when expressed in cultured epithelial cells. However, spontaneous secretion or release of SpvB has not been observed under in vitro growth conditions. In the present study we investigated the secretion of SpvB from Salmonella using in vitro and in vivo assay systems. We showed that SpvB is secreted into supernatant from Salmonella strains that contain the cloned spvB gene on a plasmid when they grew in intracellular salts medium (ISM), a minimal medium mimicing the intracellular iron concentrations of eukaryotic cells. A series of mutant SpvB proteins revealed that an N-terminal region of SpvB located at amino acids 1-229 was sufficient to promote secretion into extracellular milieu. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy also demonstrated efficient localization of the N-terminal domain of SpvB(1-360) tagged with biotinylated peptide within infected host cell cytosol but not truncated SpvB(1-179) fusion protein. In addition, mutations that inactivate genes within Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 or Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 that encode type III secretion systems (TTSS) could secrete the SpvB protein into the culture medium. These results indicate that SpvB protein is transported from the bacteria and into the host cytoplasm independent of TTSS.

Genetic requirements for salmonella-induced cytopathology in human monocyte-derived macrophages

Infection of human macrophages with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium or Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin produces delayed cytotoxicity characterized by cell detachment and associated apoptosis. Using a site-specific mutant in the SpvB active site, we verify that the ADP-ribosylation activity of SpvB is required for delayed cytotoxicity in human macrophages infected with Salmonella: SipB and the type III protein secretion system (TTSS) encoded by Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) are not involved, whereas the SPI2 TTSS is absolutely required for SpvB-dependent cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we show that infection of macrophage cultures with wild-type or sipB mutant bacteria led to a complete loss of polymerized actin in over half of the cells after 24 h. In contrast, macrophages infected with the spvB or SPI2 (ssaV or ssaJ) mutant strain retained normal F-actin filaments, despite similar numbers of intracellular bacteria. We conclude that SpvB and a functional SPI2 TTSS are essential for Salmonella-induced delayed cytotoxicity of human macrophages.

Effect of constitutively expressed phoP gene on the localization of Salmonella typhimurium within Mac-1 positive phagocytes

Intracellular localization of the wild-type (Spv+), the phoP-constitutively expressed strain (PhoPc), and the spv-deleted strain (Spv-) of Salmonella typhimurium was examined by the use of confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis of immunostained sections of mouse spleens after oral or subcutaneous inoculation. Only 40% of salmonellae of both the PhoPc and the Spv- strains were detected intracellularly within Mac-1 positive cells at day five after oral or day four after subcutaneous inoculation. In contrast, over 85% of salmonellae of the Spv+ strain were detected inside Mac-1 positive cells. In both inoculation trials, the splenic colony-forming unit values for the PhoPc and Spv- strains were significantly lower than the corresponding value for the Spv+ strain. These findings suggest that the constitutively expressed phoP gene of S. typhimurium attenuated virulence by limiting intracellular proliferation within mouse spleen phagocytes, and that the lack of spv genes had the same effect.

Listeria pathogenesis and molecular virulence determinants

The gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of listeriosis, a highly fatal opportunistic foodborne infection. Pregnant women, neonates, the elderly, and debilitated or immunocompromised patients in general are predominantly affected, although the disease can also develop in normal individuals. Clinical manifestations of invasive listeriosis are usually severe and include abortion, sepsis, and meningoencephalitis. Listeriosis can also manifest as a febrile gastroenteritis syndrome. In addition to humans, L. monocytogenes affects many vertebrate species, including birds. Listeria ivanovii, a second pathogenic species of the genus, is specific for ruminants. Our current view of the pathophysiology of listeriosis derives largely from studies with the mouse infection model. Pathogenic listeriae enter the host primarily through the intestine. The liver is thought to be their first target organ after intestinal translocation. In the liver, listeriae actively multiply until the infection is controlled by a cell-mediated immune response. This initial, subclinical step of listeriosis is thought to be common due to the frequent presence of pathogenic L. monocytogenes in food. In normal individuals, the continual exposure to listerial antigens probably contributes to the maintenance of anti-Listeria memory T cells. However, in debilitated and immunocompromised patients, the unrestricted proliferation of listeriae in the liver may result in prolonged low-level bacteremia, leading to invasion of the preferred secondary target organs (the brain and the gravid uterus) and to overt clinical disease. L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are facultative intracellular parasites able to survive in macrophages and to invade a variety of normally nonphagocytic cells, such as epithelial cells, hepatocytes, and endothelial cells. In all these cell types, pathogenic listeriae go through an intracellular life cycle involving early escape from the phagocytic vacuole, rapid intracytoplasmic multiplication, bacterially induced actin-based motility, and direct spread to neighboring cells, in which they reinitiate the cycle. In this way, listeriae disseminate in host tissues sheltered from the humoral arm of the immune system. Over the last 15 years, a number of virulence factors involved in key steps of this intracellular life cycle have been identified. This review describes in detail the molecular determinants of Listeria virulence and their mechanism of action and summarizes the current knowledge on the pathophysiology of listeriosis and the cell biology and host cell responses to Listeria infection. This article provides an updated perspective of the development of our understanding of Listeria pathogenesis from the first molecular genetic analyses of virulence mechanisms reported in 1985 until the start of the genomic era of Listeria research.

Differential expression of Vibrio vulnificus elastase gene in a growth phase-dependent manner by two different types of promoters

Elastase activity of Vibrio vulnificus was highly dependent on growth phase, reached a maximum during the stationary phase, and was regulated at the level of transcription. The stationary phase production of elastase in crp or rpoS mutants, which were constructed by allelic exchanges, decreased about 3- and 10-fold, respectively. However, the promoter activity of vvpE encoding elastase was unaffected by those mutations in the log phase when analyzed using a vvpE-lux fusion. A primer extension analysis revealed that the transcription of vvpE begins at two different sites, consisting of putative promoter L (PL) and promoter S (PS). The PL activity was constitutive through the log and stationary phases, lower than the PS activity, and unaffected by the crp or rpoS mutations. The transcription of PS, induced only in the stationary phase, was dependent on RpoS. The mutation in crp reduced the activity of PS; however, the additional inactivation of crp did not influence the PS activity in the rpoS mutant, indicating that CRP exerted its effects through PS requiring RpoS. These results demonstrate that vvpE expression is differentially directed by PL and PS depending on the growth phase and elevated by RpoS and CRP in the stationary phase.

Identification of a non-haem catalase in Salmonella and its regulation by RpoS (sigmaS)

We report the identification and functional analysis of katN, a gene encoding a non-haem catalase of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium. katN, which is not present in Escherichia coli, is located between the yciGFE and yciD E. coli homologues in the Salmonella genome. Its predicted protein product has a molecular weight of 31 826 Da and is similar to the Mn-catalases of Lactobacillus plantarum and Thermus spp. Its product, KatN, was visualized as a 37 kDa protein in E. coli maxicells. A KatN recombinant protein, containing six histidine residues at its C-terminus, was purified, and its catalase activity was observed on a non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel. KatN was also visualized by catalase activity gel staining of bacterial cell extracts. Its expression was shown to be regulated by growth phase and rpoS. Northern blotting indicated that kat forms an operon with the upstream yciGFE genes. A putative rpoS-regulated promoter was identified upstream of yciG. Southern blotting revealed that katN is conserved within Salmonella serovars. katN homologues were found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia marcescens. A katN mutation did not appear to affect the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) response of Salmonella. However, the expression of katN increased the H2O2 resistance of unadapted cells in the exponential phase and of rpoS mutants in stationary phase. Thus, KatN may contribute to hydrogen peroxide resistance in Salmonella in certain environmental conditions.

Constitutively expressed phoP inhibits mouse-virulence of Salmonella typhimurium in an Spv-dependent manner

In Salmonella typhimurium, the transcription of several virulence genes including spvB is regulated by the PhoP/PhoQ regulatory system. To further examine the relationship between the PhoP/PhoQ and Spv systems for virulence in mice, we examined a non-polar phoP mutation combined with different virulence plasmid genotypes for effects on virulence of S. typhimurium in the mouse model. PhoP-/Spv+ and PhoP-/Spv- mutants were not detectably recovered from the spleens of subcutaneously or orally inoculated mice. The phoP gene constitutively expressed from the lacZ promoter of a low copy number vector (phoP(C)) only partially complemented the non-polar phoP mutation for mouse-virulence in both the Spv+ and Spv- backgrounds; both PhoP(C) strains exhibited virulence equal only to a PhoP+/Spv- strain. Interestingly, in a PhoP+ background, the phoP(C) gene reduced splenic infection of the Spv+ but not Spv- salmonellae after subcutaneous or oral inoculation compared with the PhoP+ parents. Additionally, the phoP(C) gene in an Spv+ background reduced the net growth of salmonellae in macrophages in vitro; phoP(C) in an Spv- background was without effect. These data suggest that the constitutive expression of the phoP gene attenuates the virulence of S. typhimurium in mice in an Spv-dependent manner.

Identification of RpoS (sigma(S))-regulated genes in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium

The rpoS gene encodes the alternative sigma factor sigma(S) (RpoS) and is required for survival of bacteria under starvation and stress conditions. It is also essential for Salmonella virulence in mice. Most work on the RpoS regulon has been in the closely related enterobacterial species Escherichia coli. To characterize the RpoS regulon in Salmonella, we isolated 38 unique RpoS-activated lacZ gene fusions from a bank of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium mutants harboring random Tn5B21 mutations. Dependence on RpoS varied from 3-fold to over 95-fold, and all gene fusions isolated were regulated by growth phase. The identities of 21 RpoS-dependent fusions were determined by DNA sequence analysis. Seven of the fusions mapped to DNA regions in Salmonella serovar Typhimurium that do not match any known E. coli sequence, suggesting that the composition of the RpoS regulon differs markedly in the two species. The other 14 fusions mapped to 13 DNA regions very similar to E. coli sequences. None of the insertion mutations in DNA regions common to both species appeared to affect Salmonella virulence in BALB/c mice. Of these, only three (otsA, katE, and poxB) are located in known members of the RpoS regulon. Ten insertions mapped in nine open reading frames of unknown function (yciF, yehY, yhjY, yncC, yjgB, yahO, ygaU, ycgB, and yeaG) appear to be novel members of the RpoS regulon. One insertion, that in mutant C52::H87, was in the noncoding region upstream from ogt, encoding a O(6)-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase involved in repairing alkylation damage in DNA. The ogt coding sequence is very similar to the E. coli homolog, but the ogt 5' flanking regions were found to be markedly different in the two species, suggesting genetic rearrangements. Using primer extension assays, a specific ogt mRNA start site was detected in RNAs of the Salmonella serovar Typhimurium wild-type strains C52 and SL1344 but not in RNAs of the mutant strains C52K (rpoS), SL1344K (rpoS), and C52::H87. In mutant C52::H87, Tn5B21 is inserted at the ogt mRNA start site, with lacZ presumably transcribed from the identified RpoS-regulated promoter. These results indicate that ogt gene expression in Salmonella is regulated by RpoS in stationary phase of growth in rich medium, a finding that suggests a novel role for RpoS in DNA repair functions.

The Salmonella virulence plasmid spv genes are required for cytopathology in human monocyte-derived macrophages

The pathogenesis of serious systemic Salmonella infections is characterized by survival and proliferation of bacteria inside macrophages. Infection of human monocyte-derived macrophages in vitro with S. typhimurium or S. dublin produces cytopathology characterized by detachment of cells that contain large numbers of proliferating bacteria. This cytopathology is dependent on the expression of the bacterial spv genes, a virulence locus previously shown to markedly enhance the ability of Salmonella to produce systemic disease. After 24 h of infection, macrophage cultures contain two populations of bacteria: (i) proliferating organisms present in a detached cell fraction; and (ii) a static bacterial population in macrophages remaining attached to the culture well. Mutations in either the essential transcriptional activator SpvR or the key SpvB protein markedly reduce the cytopathic effect of Salmonella infection. The spv-dependent cytopathology in macrophages exhibits characteristics of apoptosis, with release of nucleosomes into the cytoplasm, nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation. The current findings suggest that the mechanism of the spv effect is through induction of increased cytopathology in host macrophages.

Expression of the Escherichia coli NRZ nitrate reductase is highly growth phase dependent and is controlled by RpoS, the alternative vegetative sigma factor

In the absence of oxygen, many bacteria preferentially use nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor for anaerobic respiration. In Escherichia coli, there are two membrane-bound, differentially regulated nitrate reductases. While the physiological basis for this metabolic redundancy is not completely understood, during exponential growth, synthesis of NRA is greatly induced by anaerobiosis plus nitrate, whereas NRZ is expressed at a low level that is not influenced by anaerobiosis or nitrate. In the course of identifying genes controlled by the stationary phase regulatory factor RpoS (sigmas), we found that the expression of NRZ is induced during entry into stationary phase and highly dependent on this alternative sigma factor. Expression studies, using operon fusions and nitrate reductase assays, revealed that the NRZ operon is controlled mainly at the level of transcription and is induced 10-fold at the onset of stationary phase in rich media. Consistent with previous reports of RpoS expression, the RpoS dependency of NRZ in minimal media was very high (several hundredfold). We also observed a fivefold stationary phase induction of NRZ in an rpoS background, indicating that other regulatory factors, besides RpoS, are probably involved in transcriptional control of NRZ. The RpoS dependence of NRZ expression was confirmed by Northern analyses using RNA extracted from wild-type and rpoS- strains sampled in exponential and stationary phase. In toto, these data indicate that RpoS-mediated regulation of NRZ may be an important physiological adaptation that allows the cell to use nitrate under stress-associated conditions.

A role for the leucine-responsive regulatory protein and integration host factor in the regulation of the Salmonella plasmid virulence (spv ) locus in Salmonella typhimurium

The Salmonella plasmid virulence (spv ) genes of Salmonella typhimurium are activated at the level of transcription as the bacteria enter stationary phase in vitro or in response to signals received during intracellular growth. Activation requires the LysR-like transcription factor SpvR and the alternative sigma factor RpoS. In this report, we show by biochemical and genetic analyses that two chromosomally encoded DNA-binding proteins contribute to the control of spv expression. These are the integration host factor (IHF), which binds to DNA sequences upstream of the spvR regulatory gene, and the leucine-responsive regulatory protein (Lrp), which binds to sequences upstream of the spvABCD operon. Under all conditions tested, inactivation of IHF expression reduces the level of spvR transcription by twofold. It also alters the response of the spv regulon to loss of DNA gyrase activity, consistent with a role for IHF in organizing DNA structure in the vicinity of the spvR promoter. Lrp represses spvA gene expression by up to fivefold and Lrp-mediated repression is antagonized by leucine. The Lrp binding site upstream of the spvA gene overlaps one of the binding sites for the positive regulator SpvR, suggesting a mechanism by which Lrp repression is exerted. This is a first demonstration of a role for Lrp in controlling genes that are also subject to intracellular regulation. These data show that the spv virulence genes belong simultaneously to several regulons in the cell, raising the possibility that spv expression can be fine-tuned in response to multiple environmental inputs.

Analysis of rpoS mRNA in Salmonella dublin: identification of multiple transcripts with growth-phase-dependent variation in transcript stability

In Salmonella dublin, rpoS encodes an alternative sigma factor of the RNA polymerase that activates a variety of stationary-phase-induced genes, including some virulence-associated genes. In this work, we studied the regulation and transcriptional organization of rpoS during growth. We found two transcripts, 2.3 and 1.6 kb in length, that represent the complete rpoS sequence. The 2.3-kb transcript is a polycistronic message that also includes the upstream nlpD gene. It is driven by a weak promoter with increasing activity when cells enter early stationary growth. The 1.6-kb message includes 566 bp upstream of the rpoS start codon. It is transcribed from a strong sigma70 RNA polymerase-dependent promoter which is independent of growth. The decay of this transcript decreases substantially in early stationary growth, resulting in a significant net increase in rpoS mRNA levels. These levels are approximately 10-fold higher than the levels of the 2.3-kb mRNA, indicating that the 1.6-kb message is mainly responsible for RpoS upregulation. In addition to the 2.3- and 1.6-kb transcripts, two smaller 1.0- and 0.4-kb RNA species are produced from the nlpD-rpoS locus. They do not allow translation of full-length RpoS; hence their significance for rpoS regulation remains unclear. We conclude that of four transcripts arising from the nlpD-rpoS locus, only one plays a significant role in rpoS expression in S. dublin. Its upregulation when cells enter stationary growth is due primarily to an increase in transcript stability.

The Staphylococcus aureus alternative sigma factor sigmaB controls the environmental stress response but not starvation survival or pathogenicity in a mouse abscess model

The role of sigmaB, an alternative sigma factor of Staphylococcus aureus, has been characterized in response to environmental stress, starvation-survival and recovery, and pathogenicity. sigmaB was mainly expressed during the stationary phase of growth and was repressed by 1 M sodium chloride. A sigB insertionally inactivated mutant was created. In stress resistance studies, sigmaB was shown to be involved in recovery from heat shock at 54 degreesC and in acid and hydrogen peroxide resistance but not in resistance to ethanol or osmotic shock. Interestingly, S. aureus acquired increased acid resistance when preincubated at a sublethal pH 4 prior to exposure to a lethal pH 2. This acid-adaptive response resulting in tolerance was mediated via sigB. However, sigmaB was not vital for the starvation-survival or recovery mechanisms. sigmaB does not have a major role in the expression of the global regulator of virulence determinant biosynthesis, staphylococcal accessory regulator (sarA), the production of a number of representative virulence factors, and pathogenicity in a mouse subcutaneous abscess model. However, SarA upregulates sigB expression in a growth-phase-dependent manner. Thus, sigmaB expression is linked to the processes controlling virulence determinant production. The role of sigmaB as a major regulator of the stress response, but not of starvation-survival, is discussed.

In vivo analysis of the interactions of the LysR-like regulator SpvR with the operator sequences of the spvA and spvR virulence genes of Salmonella typhimurium

The interaction of the Salmonella typhimurium virulence gene regulator, SpvR, with its operator sites upstream of the spvA and spvR genes was analysed in vivo by dimethyl sulphate (DMS) footprinting and site-directed mutagenesis. DMS methylation protection assays showed that, in vivo, SpvR forms direct protein-DNA contacts with nucleotides clustered in two regions (+1 to -27 and -51 to -71) of the spvA regulatory region. These regions were subjected to site-directed mutagenesis and the effects on SpvR binding and gene activation assessed. Mutations that prevented occupancy of the promoter distal site (-51 to -71) in vivo also prevented occupancy of the promoter proximal site (+1 to -27), whereas mutations in the proximal site affected binding only at the proximal site and not the distal site. SpvR binding at the promoter proximal site was an essential prerequisite for transcription activation. These findings demonstrated a hierarchy of SpvR binding in which the promoter distal site is dominant to the proximal. The spvR gene was found to possess an operator site that resembled closely the distal SpvR binding site of the spvA operator. Nonetheless, SpvR interaction with the spvR operator was difficult to detect in vivo. When the nucleotide sequence of the spvR operator was altered at two nucleotides so that it corresponded more precisely to that of the distal site of the spvA operator, strong SpvR-DNA interactions were detected, with nucleotides in the region -31 to -67 being protected from DMS methylation in vivo. However, despite the improved interaction with the transcriptional activator, the altered regulatory region was poorer at promoting spvR gene transcription than the wild type. We describe a two-step model for activation of the spvA promoter and discuss the possibility that a specific cofactor in addition to sigma factor RpoS is required for SpvR action at this promoter in vivo.

Regulation of the spvR gene of the Salmonella typhimurium virulence plasmid during exponential-phase growth in intracellular salts medium and at stationary phase in L broth

The authors previously showed that the SpvR-regulated spvABCD operon of the Salmonella typhimurium virulence plasmid is highly induced during exponential-phase growth by salmonellae intracellularly in mammalian cells and in a medium designed to mimic the intracellular environment of mammalian cells, intracellular salts medium (ISM), as well as at stationary phase in L broth (LB). The most relevant signal(s) for spv gene expression in vivo is not known. To elucidate the means by which salmonellae regulate the spv genes in response to the environment during the disease process, expression of the spvR gene, encoding the positive regulatory protein SpvR, was examined under these same growth conditions by using RNAse-protection analysis. spvR was expressed at a low, basal level during exponential growth in LB but was induced during exponential growth in ISM and during stationary phase in LB, the same conditions that increased expression of the spvABCD operon. Basal expression of spvR during exponential growth in LB was independent of both SpvR and the alternative sigma factor RpoS, whereas maximal induction of spvR was dependent on both SpvR and RpoS. In an RpoS- background, spvR message was decreased in stationary phase, whereas spvR exhibited residual RpoS-independent induction during exponential growth in ISM. Deletion of spvA from the virulence plasmid of S. typhimurium increased expression of spvR during stationary phase in LB, but not during exponential growth in ISM. These results suggest that expression of spvR is controlled by different regulatory factors, depending on the growth conditions encountered by the salmonellae.

General stress transcription factor sigmaB and its role in acid tolerance and virulence of Listeria monocytogenes

The gene encoding the general stress transcription factor sigmaB in the gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes was isolated with degenerate PCR primers followed by inverse PCR amplification. Evidence for gene identification includes the following: (i) phylogenetic analyses of reported amino acid sequences for sigmaB and the closely related sigmaF proteins grouped L. monocytogenes sigmaB in the same cluster with the sigmaB proteins from Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, (ii) the gene order in the 2, 668-bp portion of the L. monocytogenes sigB operon is rsbU-rsbV-rsbW-sigB-rsbX and is therefore identical to the order of the last five genes of the B. subtilis sigB operon, and (iii) an L. monocytogenes sigmaB mutant had reduced resistance to acid stress in comparison with its isogenic parent strain. The sigB mutant was further characterized in mouse models of listeriosis by determining recovery rates of the wild-type and mutant strains from livers and spleens following intragastric or intraperitoneal infection. Our results suggest that sigmaB-directed genes do not appear to be essential for the spread of L. monocytogenes to mouse liver or spleen at 2 and 4 days following intragastric or intraperitoneal infection.

An RpoS (sigmaS) homologue regulates acylhomoserine lactone-dependent autoinduction in Ralstonia solanacearum

Many bacteria sense an appropriate growth condition or a critical population density for gene expression by producing acylhomoserine lactones (acyl-HSLs) that act as intercellular autoinduction signals. We recently showed that, in Ralstonia (Pseudomonas) solanacearum, a phytopathogenic bacterium, acyl-HSL production requires soll, which encodes a putative acyl-HSL synthase, and that its expression is positively regulated by the acyl-HSL-responsive SolR transcriptional regulator. This acyl-HSL-dependent autoinduction system is noteworthy because (i) it is regulated by a 'higher level' autoinducer system (responsive to 3-hydroxypalmitic acid methyl ester) via PhcA, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator and (ii) acyl-HSL production requires two additional unlinked loci. As reported here, cloning and sequencing of one of these other loci revealed that it encodes a homologue of RpoS, an alternative sigma factor (sigmaS) that in other bacteria activates gene expression during stationary phase or in response to stress conditions. R. solanacearum RpoS (RpoS(Rso)) was demonstrated to function as a sigma factor because when introduced in trans into an Escherichia coli rpoS mutant it largely restored expression of the RpoS-dependent bolAp1 gene. Mutation of rpoS(Rso) in R. solanacearum reduced survival during starvation and low pH conditions, but did not affect survival during exposure to hydrogen peroxide, high osmolarity or high temperature. This mutant was also altered in its production of several virulence factors and wilted tomato plants several days more slowly than the wild-type parent. Transcription of solR and soll were decreased in an rpoS(Rso) background (thereby reducing acyl-HSL production), but neither mutations in solR, soll or phcA nor addition of acyl-HSLs affected rpoS(Rso) expression. Therefore, in R. solanacearum the acyl-HSL-dependent autoinduction system is controlled both by a second autoinduction system and by the RpoS(Rso) sigma factor.

A competitive microflora increases the resistance of Salmonella typhimurium to inimical processes: evidence for a suicide response

The presence of a viable competitive microflora at cell densities of 10(8) CFU ml-1 protects an underlying population of 10(5) CFU of Salmonella typhimurium ml-1 against freeze injury. The mechanism of enhanced resistance was initially postulated to be via an RpoS-mediated adaptive response. By using an spvRA:: luxCDABE reporter we have shown that although the onset of RpoS-mediated gene expression was brought forward by the addition of a competitive microflora, the time taken for induction was measured in hours. Since the protective effect of a competitive microflora is essentially instantaneous, the stationary-phase adaptive response is excluded as the physiological mechanism. The only instantaneous effect of the competitive microflora was a reduction in the percent saturation of oxygen from 100% to less than 10%. For both mild heat treatment (55 degrees C) and freeze injury this change in oxygen tension affords Salmonella a substantive (2 orders of magnitude) enhancement in survival. By reducing the levels of dissolved oxygen through active respiration, a competitive microflora reduces oxidative damage to exponential-phase cells irrespective of the inimical treatment. These results have led us to propose a suicide hypothesis for the destruction of rapidly growing cells by inimical processes. In essence, the suicide hypothesis proposes that a mild inimical process leads to the growth arrest of exponential-phase cells and to the decoupling of anabolic and catabolic metabolism. The result of this is a free radical burst which is lethal to unadapted cells.

Exponential-phase expression of spvA of the Salmonella typhimurium virulence plasmid: induction in intracellular salts medium and intracellularly in mice and cultured mammalian cells

The spv genes of Salmonella typhimurium and other non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars are essential for efficient systemic infection beyond the intestines in orally inoculated mice as a model for enteric fever. These virulence genes are not significantly expressed by salmonellae during exponential growth in L broth but are induced when the bacteria enter the stationary phase of growth. Using RNase protection analysis to directly measure spvA mRNA from the virulence plasmid of S. typhimurium, we found that spvA was maximally induced in an SpvR- and RpoS-dependent manner during exponential growth in intracellular Salts Medium, which mimics the intracellular environment of mammalian cells. A cloned spvA-lacZ operon fusion in S. typhimurium was induced intracellularly in periotoneal cells of mice, correlating in vivo intracellular gene expression with intracellular function of the spv genes in infected mice. spvA was also induced intracellularly in vitro within both Henle-407 intestinal epithelial cells and J774.A1 macrophage-like cells when the bacteria were replicating with exponential kinetics. Prevention of invasion of salmonellae with cytochalasin D inhibited spvA induction within tissue culture cells, indicating that salmonellae must be internalized for spvA to be induced. The spvA-lacZ fusion was not induced by salmonellae in extracellular fluid of the peritoneal cavity or in serum. Since induction of the spv genes occurs intracellularly during exponential growth of salmonellae, cessation of growth may not be the most relevant inducing signal for spv gene expression.

SlyA, a transcriptional regulator of Salmonella typhimurium, is required for resistance to oxidative stress and is expressed in the intracellular environment of macrophages

Appropriate regulation of genes enables Salmonella typhimurium to adapt to the intracellular environment of the host. The Salmonella slyA gene is in a family of transcriptional regulators that may play an important role in this adaptation. We have previously shown that slyA mutant Salmonella strains are profoundly attenuated for virulence and do not survive in macrophages. In this study, we demonstrate that the expression of multiple Salmonella proteins is regulated by SlyA during stationary phase and during infection of macrophages. Both of these conditions also induced the expression of a slyA::lacZ transcriptional fusion. Expression of the slyA::lacZ transcriptional fusion increased 15-fold in stationary phase and was not dependent on the stationary-phase sigma factor, RpoS. slyA mutant Salmonella strains were sensitive to oxidative products of the respiratory burst, including hydrogen peroxide and the products of the redox cycling compound paraquat, but not to nitric oxide donors. These results suggest that the SlyA regulon is activated during infection of the host and is required for resistance to toxic oxidative products of the reticuloendothelial system.

Mutational characterization of promoter regions recognized by the Salmonella dublin virulence plasmid regulatory protein SpvR

The virulence plasmid-encoded spv regulon is essential for virulence of Salmonella dublin in mice. The spvR gene product belongs to the LysR family of transcriptional regulator proteins. SpvR induces the expression of the spvABCD operon and positively regulates its own expression. DNase I protection analysis with purified SpvR fusion proteins identified SpvR binding sites within the spvA and spvR promoters (P. Grob and D. G. Guiney, J. Bacteriol. 178:1813-1820, 1996). We have used PCR mutagenesis, combined with functional selection for reduced SpvR affinity, to define the DNA elements essential for SpvR binding. For the spvR promoter fragment, a screen for reduced expression was also applied. Sequence analysis of the resulting mutant fragments reveals that the base pair changes are clustered in distinct regions. Determination of the apparent dissociation constants of SpvR for the mutant promoters showed that the spvA LysR-type motif and the upstream palindromic sequences of both promoters play an important role in SpvR recognition.

Expression profile and subcellular location of the plasmid-encoded virulence (Spv) proteins in wild-type Salmonella dublin

The plasmid-encoded virulence genes (spvABCD) in nontyphoid Salmonella strains mediate lethal infections in a variety of animals. Previous studies have shown that these genes are transcriptionally regulated by stationary-phase growth. We studied the expression profile and the subcellular locations of the SpvABCD proteins in wild-type S. dublin by using polyclonal antibodies against SpvA, SpvB, SpvC, and SpvD. The cellular levels of the individual proteins were determined during growth by quantitative immunoblotting. As expected, SpvA, SpvB, SpvC, and SpvD were not detectable before the late logarithmic growth phase and appeared in the sequence SpvA, SpvB, SpvC, and SpvD. In contrast to the transcriptional regulation, however, SpvA and SpvB reached their maximal expression shortly after induction and declined during further growth whereas SpvC and SpvD expression remained high throughout the stationary phase, indicating that the Spv proteins are individually regulated at a posttranscriptional level. To localize SpvABCD within the bacteria, the cells were fractionated into the periplasmic, cytoplasmic, inner membrane, and outer membrane components. The cell fractions and the culture supernatant were analyzed by immunoblotting. SpvA was present in the outer membrane, SpvB was present in the cytoplasm and the inner membrane, and SpvC was present in the cytoplasm. SpvD was secreted into the supernatant; however, a substantial portion of this protein was also detected in the cytoplasm and membranes. The molecular weights of SpvD in the supernatant and in the cytoplasm appeared to be equal, suggesting that SpvD is not cleaved upon secretion.

Avirulence of LT2 strains of Salmonella typhimurium results from a defective rpoS gene

In order to identify the genetic basis for the attenuation of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 strains, experiments were performed to identify a gene(s) which restores virulence to an avirulent LT2 strain. These and further experiments confirmed that an rpoS mutation is the sole determinant of the attenuation of S. typhimurium LT2.